Reporters learned from the 3rd Session of the 9th Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress January 10 that Tibet's "180 projects" all started construction in 2009, except for the Lhasa-Xigaze railway project which is pending approval from the central government and a pump-storage power station project that was adjusted. 100 of the 180 projects have already completed construction.

The "180 projects" refer to a total of 180 infrastructure projects that the central government and the State Council had determined to carry out in Tibet during China's "Eleventh Five-Year" period in order to support Tibet in making a leap forward in development. The projects require a total investment of 109.76 billion yuan, of which 77.88 billion yuan will be invested during the "Eleventh Five-Year" period.

Qiangba Puncog, chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region said that the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet, Sichuan-Tibet, Xinjiang-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet highways, the China-Nepal highway and asphalt roads leading to each county advanced smoothly in 2009. A total of 49 counties in Tibet have access to asphalt roads. A trial flight at the Elikunsha Airport succeeded and the renovation and expansion of the Qamdo Bangda Airport was completed. The construction of the Laohuzui Hydropower Station is progressing smoothly and the Bahe Xueka Hydropower Station has been put into operation, linking the Nyingchi power grid with the central Tibet power grid. The construction of a transitional power supply system for the central Tibet power grid has been accelerated and all of its power generation units are expected to be put into service by the Tibetan New Year. The grid-connected photovoltaic power plant project in the Ngari area has started construction and the Shiquanhe emergency power supply system has been put into operation. The main construction of the Manla and Moda irrigated areas has been completed and 3G mobile service was available in Tibet at the same time as that in China's other regions.